1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to process machinery, and more particularly to machinery for the continuous manufacture of a web of multilayer material, such as asbestos.
2. Prior Art
Asbestos sheet is an item necessary for the manufacture of gaskets, brake pads, scuff plates, insulation and the like, all necessary for the functioning of our modern society. This modern society however, has also dictated safety standards for the production of such goods containing asbestos, because of its possible toxicological properties. These properties include the presence of fines and fumes which may be harmful to the operators of the machines which are currently utilized to make asbestos sheet. One of the machines which presently manufacture sheets of asbestos is generally comprised of a large roll onto which the asbestos fiber is fed. After a suitable accretion and curing of the fibers, the machine operator makes an axially directed cut through the build-up of fibers on the roll of the machine. The roll is then turned, and a single sheet is pulled (and scraped) off the roll. This is a time consuming method and involves a potentially dangerous operation because it involves close operator attention and contact, and creates atmospheric fines when the sheet is cut on the roll. Other examples of the prior art manufacture of asbestos sheet or other web material are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,770,569; 2,055,412; 3,967,043; 3,861,971 and 3,197,529.